It has been revealed that last winter 2 out of 5 people who qualify for a free flu jab in Southampton did not take advantage of this. The NHS offers free flu vaccination shots to those who would be particularly vulnerable from the disease, focusing on elderly and young people, but 40% did not get their jab.
Elderly people were more likely to get their flu shot than toddlers, with only 42% of two year olds and 46% of three year olds receiving their shot, compared to 74% of pensioners receiving the vaccination. However, this still left over 8,000 over 65’s in Southampton vulnerable to the disease. Flu is particularly rampant during the winter months and doctors warn that there could be several cases of the disease in January.
In October, Southampton General Hospital highly recommended that everyone got their flu shot, allowing all of their staff a free flu jab. We will have to wait to see how many went to get their flu jab this year, but it is worth considering whether the recent trend in negative attitudes towards vaccinations had an effect on these numbers, or whether people knew if they were even eligible for their flu jab.
